Energy competition and choice has created low prices options for businesses in Philadelphia. The local utility in Philadelphia, PECO, recently raised their supply default electric rates by 10% on average. The default rates are the PECO price to compare prices businesses pay who have not shopped for low electric rates.

Despite the energy price increases for price to compare customers, competitive electric rates have stayed low despite increased volatility in the natural gas market. Businesses in Philadelphia can lower their electric bill by as much as 25% if they take the time to find low electric rates in PECO.

Electricity shopping is going on in the PECO electric utility region which includes the city of Philadelphia. According to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission 40% of PECO commercial customers are receiving their electric supply from an alternative supplier, with 56% of the total electricity consumption going to alternative suppliers. This shows that the highest power consumption customers are the ones doing the electric shopping. Many small businesses are still unaware of electric choice in Pennsylvania. It is these small mom and pop shops that can sometimes use the savings the most, and low competitive electric rates can provide those electric bill savings.

Many people have compared the success of the Pennsylvania electric choice market to that of Texas which is widely considered the most successful energy choice state. Texas, which deregulated their electricity market in 2002, had a 58% switch rate five years after competition began. Today Dallas energy customers have dozens of electricity companies to choose from, including a variety of green power options. After only 7 months of true electric choice, PECO has reached a 20% residential customer switch rate.

Update PECO Commercial Rates:

Residential electricity customers of ComEd are seeing rate savings by competitive electricity companies for the first time since the Electric Choice Laws in Illinois were established in 2007. With ComEd price to compare rates having been established through May 2012, customers can look at competitive electric rates and see clear savings that will show up on their monthly electric bill.

People can find lower ComEd rates by shopping for competitive electric rates at online energy comparison sites. Current savings are well above 10%. The ComEd price to compare includes electricity generation and transmission charges. The distribution rates found on the ComEd electric bill continue to be regulated by the Illinois Utility Commission and charged by ComEd. Choosing a competitive electricity company for electricity supply is simply about finding and paying a lower electric rate. When a switch is made there are no service interruptions and you continue to receive your monthly electric bill from ComEd.

The misconception about electric choice in Illinois is that by selecting an alternative electric company you are leaving ComEd. The reality is that you remain a ComEd customer no matter who you choose for electricity generation. Furthermore, ComEd does not profit off of the default price to compare generation rate, they simply pass on the revenues from customers to electricity companies. ComEd does not care if their customers shop for competitive rates, their profits are earned from the regulate distribution charges.

Electric suppliers have started to enter the ComEd market and offer products to residential customer, and more are expected over the next year as ComEd becomes an active residential electric choice market.

PSEG electricity customers can save as much as 17% on their electric supply bills by selecting an alternative electric supplier. Electricity shopping has been picking up steam in recent months as more competitive electricity companies have filed and received electricity supplier licenses from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. However, many consumers are still uninformed that New Jersey in now an electric choice market, and even more are uninformed about just how much they can save.

In the past, surveys done in New Jersey regarding market awareness on electric choice has shown that many people just don’t want to go through the “hassle” of shopping for electricity because the end result is only a few dollars a month in savings. However, as competition has heated up and pushed competitive pricing down, the savings are now becoming quite more significant, especially for medium and large houses.  In the past, electricity savings in New Jersey had been  reserved for the largest commercial and industrial customers in the state.  Things have certainly changed as more and more alternative suppliers compete for the 3.3 million New Jersey residential electricity consumers.

PSEG customers using 1,000 KWh would save $20 a month ($240 per year) by choosing the lowest rate available compared to the PSEG default rate.  Homes using 2,000 KWh would save more than twice that ($46.60 a month and $559.20 a year) because PSEG default rates get higher the more power you consume.  A good rule of thumb for figuring out your average monthly KWh is to figure you will use 1 KWh for every square foot of home (1,500 square foot home would use 1,500 KWh average per month).

 
Current Rate Offers From Competitive Suppliers (Updated Daily):

Electricity customers being serviced by United Illuminating (UI), a utility company servicing southern Connecticut, are shopping for lower electric rates as prices in the competitive market have become much lower than UI default rates.

United Illuminating power company offers a default rate of 10.62 cents per KWh for their customers who have not done power shopping. Customers who compare electric rates will find savings of 10% or more. The high UI default rates has made the United Illuminating territory attractive for competitive electricity companies to enter the market, causing prices to go down further.

MX Energy is the leading competitive supplier in the area with more than 19,000 UI customers. When UI customers choose an alternative supplier for their electric generation supply, UI continues to deliver the power and send the monthly electric bill to the customer. Electricity shopping is purely about finding savings and getting a lower rate on the monthly electric bill. Nothing else changes when a switch is made; there is no interruption of service and no one has to come to your home to adjust any lines and wires.

Here are some current competitive electricity rates for United Illuminating Customers:

The vast majority of Philadelphia electricity customers are serviced by the utility PECO Energy.  At the beginning of 2011 PECO customers had their electric rates, which had been capped since 1997, lifted.  This launched the beginning of true electric choice in the area.

PECO energy customers have the ability to shop and compare electric rates, which  have been resulting in electric bill savings for thousands of Philadelphia residences and businesses.  Customers can compare competitive electricity rates in Philadelphia against the PECO price to compare.  PECO default rates increased in July, making competitive electric rates even more attractive.

Competitive Philadelphia electricity rates are providing as much as 18% savings versus PECO default rates for residential customers, and between 10-20% savings for business electricity customers.

Below are current PECO Residential Electric Rates

Below are current PECO Business Electric Rates

Performing an energy price comparison among different energy companies and their offers is not always as simple as it may seem.  If you are shopping for competitive energy prices you may not always get apples to apples rate comparisons, especially if you are doing electric rate comparisons for a business.

Increasingly competitive energy suppliers are finding creative ways to structure their rate offers which makes customers appear to be signing contracts for unrealistic low rates, when in truth the contract has many additional charges that show up on the electric bill.

In order to protect customers, New Jersey and Pennsylvania post their “Price to Compare” rates which are the default rates offered by the utilities that competitive suppliers are supposed to offer their rates against.  Most people understand that with electric choice, the bill is now divided into two sections:  the competitive supply section, and the regulated delivery section.  The “Price to Compare” rate that utility companies (PP&L, PECO, PSE&G, JCP&L) publish are the entire supply component of the bill.

The supply rate for energy is broken down into more smaller components.  Some of these charges, such as transmission and capacity, will often be displayed on the bill.  Other components, such as line losses and congestion fees, are charges that are not stated on the bill but are blended into the price to compare rate.  However, competitive suppliers will take out these charges and present their rate to a customer that only contains the energy commodity.  The remaining charges will show up when the customer receives the bill.

This practice makes offers seem significantly less than the utility price to compare.  Unfortunately, often when the bill shows up those extra charges push the rate well above the default price to compare.

It is important to understand that in most energy choice markets, business customers can save money on their bills through shopping and comparing offers.  However due diligence needs to be done and the contracts read.  If your staff is unable to do this themselves they should consider working with an energy consulting firm or use a electricity comparison site that presents all offers equally against each other and against the utility’s current price to compare rate.

Here is some information on specific price to compare rates:

PPL:  The price to compare includes the energy rate and transmission rate that are posted on the PPL website.  The rates also include a GRT tax that is 5.9%.  Current PPL commercial rates increased by 33% on June 1.

PECO:  The price to compare includes the energy rate and transmission rate that are posted on the PPL website.  The rates also include a GRT tax that is 6.06%.  PECO commercial rates will increase by 9-11% on July 1.  PECO residential rates will increase by an average of 10% on July 1.

PSEG:  The official term for the price to compare in New Jersey is Basic Generation Service (BGS) rate.  The BGS rate for PSEG businesses is a little complicated because they use different measurements for different charges.  They charge a per KWh rate for energy commodity, and then a dollar per KW demand for transmission and capacity.  This causes the total BGS to change slightly from month to month.  To get an overall idea of what your BGS default rate is, take your total supply charge and divide it by the total KWh amount for that month.  All of this is stated on the bill.  Then you can compare competitive rates against the total BGS rate to see what type of savings are available.  Keep in mind that BGS rate include a 7% NJ tax.

JCPL:  The official term for the price to compare in New Jersey is Basic Generation Service (BGS) rate.  The BGS rate includes energy and transmission charges.

On June 1, generation electricity rates will increase by 33.4% for over 100,000 businesses who are serviced by the central Pennsylvania utility company PPL (Pennsylvania Power and Light).  Business customers who have not done their electric shopping and have taken the time to compare electric suppliers will see their generation supply rates increase as the state regulated default rate will increase to 13.028 cents per Kilowatt hour from the current rate of 9.766.

The default electric rate, termed price to compare by the Pennsylvania Utility Commission, was expected to have only increased to just over 11 cents.  However, due to a higher than expected last auction for the default customers, the rate was pushed up.  Authorities at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission along with upper management officials at PPL are urging business customers who have not done electric price comparison to get out and find a lower electric rate.

PPL does not profit from the default price to compare rate that is charged to electricity customers who have not chosen an alternative supplier.  Instead that rate is passed through PPL by competitive electric suppliers who have won auctions to supply energy to a percentage of the default rate payers.  Many people who have not participated in electricity choice have decided to do so because they want to remain a PPL customer.  The reality is that they are already buying their electric power from other companies that are not PPL.  PPL simply passes through those revenues to the winning bidders at the auctions.  Furthermore, PPL remains the regulated utility company for all of their customers.  This means that no matter what rate a customers chooses, they will still receive their power by PPL through their transmission and distribution services.

The 33.4% electric bill increase will certainly be a shock to many business customers.  Even with the old 9.766 rate business customers were able to find lower electric rates below 8 cents that resulted in savings greater than 15%.  Electricity savings will be available for commercial customers.  However it is important to carefully review any electricity rate contract that you decide to sign.  Many suppliers have been offering rates that have hidden charges.   If you are comparing electric rate offers in Pennsylvania, ask to see a rate that includes the entire price to compare component, including the GRT tax.  The 13.028 cent default rate includes energy, transmission, capacity components, and the GRT tax.  The only thing that the rate shouldn’t include are the regulated distribution charges.

Competitive PPL rates can save businesses as much as 35% against summer price to compare electric rates.  If ever a time to learn about electricity choice, now is that time for PPL businesses.

Here are some competitive electric rates and the savings compared to the high business PPL default rates:

PECO electricity customers will see an increase on their electric bills on June 1, followed by another increase on July 1.  Households who receive their electric bills from PECO, an electric utility company who serves most of Philadelphia and the surrounding areas, will be raising their electric rates for customer who are paying the default price to compare rate.

The PECO energy area transitioned to full electric choice at the beginning of the year (2011).  PECO still manages the maintenance of the lines and wires and continues to send their customers the monthly electric bill.  However, PECO is no longer in charge of providing low electric supply rates to their customers.  They only charge regulated fees for the delivery of the power.  They have also been given the responsibility by the state to provide customers who have tno shopped for electricity rates a default supply rate.

These default supply rates will be rising in the summer, however customers can protect themselves from these increases and save money compared to what they are currently paying by selecting a lower electric rate.  The great thing about electric choice in Pennsylvania is that even after a customer chooses a low electric rate, they continue to receive their monthly electric bill from their local utility company (PECO, PPL, Duquesne Light).    Pennsylvania residential electric rates options are available for customers looking to save money and enact their power of electric choice and competition.

Currently customers pay 9.99 cents for electric supply.  On June 1, customers who use more than 500 KWh, which is nearly everyone who lives in a home larger than one bedroom, will see their rates increase by 12% for all consumption above 500 KWh.  On July 1, another increase of about 3-4% on top of the June 1 increase will occur for every KWh consumed by residential customers.

Below are some current competitive offers, all of which are below the current 9.99 cents.  You will save between 10-18% versus the high summer PECO default rates by choosing one of the low electric rates below.  We recommend signing a fixed rate because savings will be guaranteed, as opposed to a variable rate where the rate can change in any given month.

Customers of the Pennsylvania electric utility PECO energy will want to shop and compare electric rates very soon in order to prevent a large energy bill spike this summer.  With gas prices already on the rise and  expected to continue to increase, it is imperative to the personal finance of these energy customers to find lower electricity prices.

For a electricity consumer who uses 1000 KWh a month, the supply portion of the PECO electric bill will increase by more than 10% going from 9.99 cents to over 11 cents starting on July first.  Customers who use more than 1000 KWh will have even higher rates.  PA electric choice is providing savings opportunities for customers, but finding those deals has proved to be difficult for many consumers.

Fortunately, electricity price comparison web sites like www.electricrate.com give PECO energy customers a variety of energy choices with savings and promotions easily identifiable.

Finding a lower electric rate will not take you away from being a PECO energy customer.  PECO energy will continue to serve as your local utility delivering the power to your home or business.  With the Electric Choice Act in effect, PECO no longer is involved in the business of offering competitive generation rates.  They instead only focus on the reliability and maintenance of the power lines and wires.  They are however, mandated by the Public Utility Commission to offer default rates to customers who do not shop for competitive rates.

Electricrate.com provides an easy platform for customers to do energy shopping and compare electric rates being offered to the PECO price to compare default rate.  Current savings of 10-16% are available versus the summer PECO default rates.

Electric bill savings can also be found for Pennsylvania electricity customers who are serviced by the utilities PPL Energy in central Pennsylvania and Duquesne Light in the Pittsburgh area.  As is the case with PECO energy, these energy consumers will remain customers of their respective utility companies no matter which electric supplier they choose.  It is simply about saving money on the electric bill; if you can find a lower rate compared to the default rate then you should switch.

Even after a customer chooses a lower electric rate, they will continue to get their monthly electric bill from their local electricity utility company (PECO, PPL, Duquesne Light).

Electricity rate savings are also available for small businesses throughout the state.  Small business customers of PPL in particular have huge savings potential.  Businesses who have not switched suppliers, and thus are still on the PPL default service, will see their electric bills increase by 15% on June 1 if they do not take action.  If they do shop, they can find savings of about 15% off of current default rates.  If nothing is done the business electric rate will be above 11 cents.  If they shop and compare rates, then they will find competitive electric rates below 8.7 cents.

Energy customers in New Jersey are given a variety of  options when in comes to their energy purchasing decisions.  New Jersey is leading the country in clean energy initiatives with the NJ Clean Energy Program which provides rebates and promotions for consumers looking to purchase energy efficient hardware.  The program also promotes the use of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind and provides financial assistance for consumers and businesses who invest in solar energy systems.

NJ Energy customers have also seen the benefits of an energy choice market where customers are able to shop for competitive electricity and natural gas rates.  Many energy consumers in New Jersey have not used NJ Energy Choice to their advantage because of an unfamiliarity to the program.  Natural gas customers who have not shopped pay a default rate with their utility which is based largely on market price.  In this sense the decision to purchase competitive natural gas is a decision of price protection and certainty; savings versus the default rates cannot be guaranteed because they change on a monthly basis.

On the contrary, utility default electric rates are set for one year at a time, and the default rates for the following year can be estimated within a tight range since a large percentage of that energy is purchased in advance for default rate paying customers.  These buying strategies present opportunities for NJ electricity customers to save money on their electric bills if they find competitive electric rates that are lower than the default rates.  Many electric suppliers in New Jersey are offering electricity prices that will save customers money.  Business customers in particular have big opportunities to save money.  Many small businesses in New Jersey have not chosen a competitive electricity supplier because they do not fully understand their electric bill.

New Jersey electricity customers, both residential and business, can use electric choice information sites to understand energy competition and electricity rate structures so that they can maximize their energy savings.